Paleo Almond Joy Donuts

All of my favorite ingredients combined in one: chocolate, coconut, and almonds… It was really only a matter of time until I made a paleo donut recipe inspired by my favorite candy bar!

A Healthier, Grain-Free Donut Recipe

Donuts always remind me of beach vacations. Specifically, those touristy donut shops on New England beach boardwalks with all of the crazy flavors. These beach donuts were never just your average Krispy Kreme. Each one had their own special funky twist.

As the weather has been getting warmer, I’ve found myself craving all things summer related. AKA beach vacations & extra sweet treats with my family. Although the beach might be off the table at the moment in the middle of landlocked Pennsylvania, I simply HAD to try and re-create one of my favorite fun donut flavors!

Making a Low Sugar Donut:

To make this donut situation even better, I never have to worry about that dreaded sugar crash when I make these. This healthier donut recipe is filled with healthy fats and only 3 grams of sugar. I repeat: 3 GRAMS. Most “traditional” donuts have at least 30 grams of refined sugar to put it in perspective!

Monk fruit is a popular Paleo-approved sweetener that is considered to be “sugar free” since the sweet compound in monk fruit is actually a group of antioxidants. These antioxidants are referred to as mogrosides and don’t contribute to a glucose spike and insulin response! In other words, it’s a great alternative to sugar if you’re trying to stabilize your blood sugar, metabolism, and hunger swings!

I also chose to use a blend of paleo dark chocolate chips & cocoa nibs. Cocoa nibs are simply just little pieces of the actual roasted cocoa bean so they don’t have any added sugar. Warning: they’re actually kind of bitter (think coffee-like) since the cocoa bean itself doesn’t even have any naturally occurring sugar.

Pairing cocoa nibs with naturally sweetened paleo-approved chocolate chips is a great way to disguise the bitterness of the cocoa beans while still getting the rich chocolate flavor. This is also a sneaky way to reduce the sugar content a little bit so you’ll feel fuller for longer!

Paleo Donut Tips:

For starters, it’s easier said than done.

Making this almond flour based recipe fluffy and not using yeast to help the donuts rise while they’re baking were 2 massive hurdles I ran into. After several rounds of trial & error, I think these are officially perfected. Here’s what I did:

1. Use a granulated sweetener!

AKA monk fruit.

I’m pretty sure I tried every single natural sweetener under the sun: honey, maple syrup, agave nectar… you name it. All of these liquid sweeteners made the donuts too dense & moist in the center. Almost as if they were under-baked despite being very done on the outside. When I stumbled across a Paleo-approved granulated sweetener that comes from a monk fruit extract, I simply had to try it out.

Although it hasn’t been investigated/ researched yet in terms of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I’ve felt ok so far after incorporating it into several of my recipes.

2. Eggs are KEY.

I’ve found that eggs are the key to helping almond flour get fluffy. No matter how much baking soda or baking powder I would add in, the cakey texture just wasn’t there if I didn’t use eggs! I used to shy away from using them back when vegan donut recipes were all the rage, but I’ve finally come to fully embrace my love of eggs & all of the health benefits they bring!

3. A little tapioca goes a long way.

As much as I really (& I mean REALLY) wanted to make these completely SCD friendly, tapioca flour simply had to be used to give the texture the extra magic touch it needed. Tapioca flour acts as a really great binding/thickening agent in recipes. In my opinion, adding a small amount in a donut or bread dough helps give it the same structure that gluten typically does in these types of recipes! Tapioca flour also helps bind the extra liquid as the donuts are baking so that they aren’t too dense or moist in the middle.

How to Make Grain-Free Almond Joy Donuts

Step 1: Combine the almond flour, tapioca flour, monk fruit, baking soda, and salt. Add in the eggs, melted coconut oil, vanilla, and almond milk. Beat with an electric hand mixer.

Step 2: Lightly grease a silicone donut mold with coconut oil. Evenly divide the dough among the 6 donut molds. Top the batter with mini paleo chocolate chips, cocoa nibs, coconut flakes, and almond slices.

Step 3: Bake! Let them cool completely before carefully removing them from the molds. Drizzle with melted coconut butter & enjoy.

What You’ll Need:

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